Lucas Blogs About Books

 Hey! That's right, it's my winter break. I know it's not the new year yet, but I'll be happy to put this year behind me. And I know that the first few months of 2021 aren't going to be easy, but I'm letting myself hope that maybe by this time next year things will be at least a little bit better.

I like how the guy on the back cover is just casually flexing his ram chair. Like, "Why yes, the armrests are giant ram's horns, nbd!" So, what's this book's deal? Would you believe we're already up to volume six of Witch Hat Atelier ? You mean Kamome Shirahama 's ongoing manga series? The very same. Yes, I would believe it, given that you have blogged about all the previous volumes. Cool. Then let's just jump right in! Of course, anything from volumes 1-5 is fair game for TEH SPOILARZ!  So, when we left off at the end of volume five, Euini had been saved, but Master Quifrey's confrontation with the Brimmed Cap Witches (the witches who violate the ban on performing magic on humans) has left him in dire need of medical assistance. Also, some Knights Moralis (Witch Cops) summon everyone from the atelier to the Great Hall (the seat of the witches' governemnt). While Quifrey recovers, Beldaruit, one of the witch elders, presents Agott and Richeh wi...

I don't have a joke about this one. So, what's this book's deal? Tiananmen 1989: Our Shattered Hopes  is a graphic novel (I will never not feel pretentious typing those words) about the events leading up to the Chinese government crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrations that had taken place in Tiananmen Square in the Spring of 1989. Sounds a little heavy, are you sure you want to do this one in the Hypothetical Reader format? Well, we've already started haven't we? It's never too late to turn back. Nah, it'll be fine. Anyway, Tiananmen 1989  was co-written by Lun Zhang a sociology professor who helped the student protesters organize and French journalist Adrien Gombeaud with art by Améziane. Zhang's dedication makes it clear that it is not a strictly autobiographical account, and that it presents a condensed version of the events portrayed. Formally, it's structured as a lecture, with the fictionalized Zhang addressing the reader from a stage an...

Minimizing the screen reflection on the glossy cover was Ruff.   So, what's this book's deal? You're serious? It was recently adapted as an HBO series. Lucas, you don't even have basic cable, let alone HBO. Right you are, Hypothetical Reader. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff is a novel, kind of, that uses the tropes of pulp literature to explore issues relating to racism (both on an individual and systemic level) in America and in the kinds of literature that inspired it. How can something be "kind of" a novel. Well, it's really more a collection of inter-connected short stories that coalesce into a larger narrative. But I'm splitting hairs. It's a novel, it's just got a more specific form. But let's talk about that later. It's 1954, and Atticus Turner, a Black Korean War veteran is on his way to Chicago to visit his father, Montrose. However, when he arrives he finds out that Montrose isn't there and has left behind a note for Atticu...